Banoffee pie
Banoffee pie is a British dessert pie made from bananas, whipped cream and a thick caramel sauce (made from boiled condensed milk, or dulce de leche), combined either on a buttery biscuit base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter.[1] Some versions of the recipe also include chocolate, coffee or both.
![]() A slice of banoffee pie served with ice cream | |
Type | Pie |
---|---|
Place of origin | United Kingdom |
Region or state | Jevington, East Sussex, England |
Created by | Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding |
Main ingredients | pastry base or crumbled biscuits, butter, bananas, cream, toffee |
Its name, sometimes spelled "banoffi", combines the words "banana" and "toffee".[2]
History
Credit for the pie's invention is claimed by Nigel Mackenzie and Ian Dowding,[3] the owner and chef respectively of the former Hungry Monk Restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, England.[4] They claim to have created the dessert in 1971,[5] basing it on a San Francisco recipe for "Blum's Coffee Toffee Pie",[6] which used dulce de leche, a soft toffee made by boiling an unopened can of condensed milk for several hours. Mackenzie and Dowding found they were unable to perfect the recipe consistently,[7] and after trying various changes including the addition of apple or mandarin orange, Mackenzie suggested banana and Dowding later said that "straight away we knew we had got it right". Mackenzie suggested the name "Banoffi Pie", and the dish proved so popular with their customers that they "couldn't take it off" the menu.[8]
The recipe was published in The Deeper Secrets of the Hungry Monk in 1974, and reprinted in the 1997 cookbook In Heaven with The Hungry Monk. Dowding has stated that his "pet hates are biscuit crumb bases and that horrible cream in aerosols".[9] It was Margaret Thatcher's favourite food to cook.[10]
Similar recipes were adopted by other restaurants throughout the world.[8] In 1984, a number of supermarkets began selling it as an American pie, leading Nigel Mackenzie to offer a £10,000 prize to anyone who could disprove their claim to be the English inventors.[11]
The word "banoffee" entered the English language, used to describe any food or product that tastes or smells of both banana and toffee.[2] A recipe for the pie, using a biscuit crumb base, is often printed on tins of Nestlé's condensed milk, although that recipe calls for the contents of the tin to be boiled with additional butter and sugar instead of boiling the unopened tin – presumably for safety reasons, as tins of Nestlé Carnation Condensed Milk bear the following warning: "CAUTION - Do not boil unopened can as bursting may occur."[12]
References
- NewsLifeMedia. "Banoffee Pies Recipe". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- "The Free Dictionary Online". Farlax. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- Dowding, Ian. "The Completely True and Utter Story of Banoffi Pie". Ian Dowding. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "The joys of jam roly-poly, a very British pudding". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2018
- Dowding, Ian. "Consultant chef, writer and the inventor of Banoffi Pie". Ian Dowding. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
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- "Blum's Coffee-Toffee Pie". The Modesto Bee. 21 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Lutz, Peggy (14 August 2017). "Blum's Coffee Toffee Pie". foodhistorianpeggylutz. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Fritsche, Sarah (27 February 2018). "Recipe: Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Famous in its day: Blum's". Restaurant-ing through history. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Fritsche, Sarah (16 February 2018). "Lost San Francisco dishes you thought you might never taste again". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "1940's Blum's Polk at California San Francisco CA BOBTAIL Matchcover". eBay. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Boutell, Kendra (1 October 2017). "A Brief History of the Coffee Crunch Cake". Nob Hill Gazette. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Portrait In Black - I. Magnin's on Union Square". Reel SF. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Blase, Cece (5 November 2018). "Famous SF Restaurants: Blum's". Cece Blase. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Blum's Fountain & Ice Cream Suggestions Menu San Francisco California 1930's". eBay. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "NEWS OF REALTY: NEW RESTAURANT; Blum's of San Francisco to Open Unit on E. 59th St". The New York Times. 3 June 1965. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Vintage Menu 1950's Blum's San Francisco Scrumptious Sodas Blumderful Cakes". eBay. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Braker, Flo (8 October 1997). "THE BAKER -- Blum's Is Gone But Not Forgotten". SFGATE. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Blum's Coffee Crunch Cake Recipe". Martha Stewart. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Blum's Sweets". goodoldsandlotdays.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- Fritsche, Sarah (18 July 2018). "Recipe: Blum's Coffee Toffee Pie". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Banoffi Pie : Nigel MacKenzie and Ian Dowding 1972". Made up in Britain. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Banoffee Pie". Great British Puddings. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "Everything you need to know about banoffee pie - from its creator". Great British Life. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- "The Completely True and Utter Story of Banoffi Pie". Ian Dowding. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
- Cloake, Felicity (26 June 2013). "How to make the perfect banoffee pie". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- The Celebrity Cookbook: Kitchen Secrets of the Rich and Famous; Brooks, Marla (1993)
- "Daily Telegraph article about Banoffee Pie reward". Banoffee.co.uk. 5 May 1994. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
- "Nestlé Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk, 397g : Amazon.co.uk: Grocery". Amazon UK.
External links
Media related to Banoffee pies at Wikimedia Commons
Banoffee Pie at the Wikibooks Cookbook subproject